Primary anorectal melanoma is a rare and very aggressive disorder. A report published in the World Journal of Gastroenterology addresses such a case. A 41-year-old man presented with a 6-month history of changed defecation and rectal bleeding. A 3-cm polypoid tumor of the lower rectum was found at rectosigmoidoscopy, which proved to be a leiomyosarcoma upon biopsy. Dissemination studies did not show any metastases. He underwent an APR.

In human hepatic stellate cells, the key cells involved in both the synthesis and degradation of matrix proteins (mainly collagens) in the liver, the plant extract Cpd 861 can regulate the expression levels of collagen synthesis and degradation-related genes, thus demonstrating an antifibrotic effect.This research, performed by Dr. Xue-Hai Tan and his colleagues at the Beijing Genomics Institute, was published in the World Journal of Gastroenterology.

The latest edition of the Oxford English Dictionary boasts 22,000 pages of definitions. While that may seem far from succinct, new research suggests the reference manual is meticulously organized to be as concise as possible - a format that mirrors the way our brains make sense of and categorize the countless words in our vast vocabulary.

Several herbs with diversified pharmacological properties are known to be rich sources of chemical constituents that may have potential for the treatment of several human cancers.

A randomised controlled trial has confirmed the efficacy of the ketogenic diet in helping control and prevent epileptic seizures in children with drug-resistant epilepsy. These are the conclusions of authors of an Article published early Online and in the June edition of The Lancet Neurology. The ketogenic diet has been used widely and successfully to treat children with drug-resistant epilepsy since the 1920s.

Results of an independent clinical study conducted by U.S. Army combat support surgeons in Baghdad show that a new medical device used to close a type of surgical wound more quickly is saving lives and limbs of soldiers and civilians. A team of battle zone surgeons led by Maj. Niten Singh, M.D. working in the 28th Combat Support Hospital in Baghdad during Operation Iraqi Freedom, used Canica(R) Inc.

Based on research using a new mouse model of gastritis and stomach cancer, researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) say that prompt treatment of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infections reverses damage to the lining of the stomach that can lead to cancer.

Coronary heart disease mortality in younger women could be on the rise, according to findings in the open access journal, BMC Public Health, published by BioMed Central. High levels of smoking, increasing obesity and a lack of exercise could all be contributing to this disturbing trend, seen in women under the age of 50.Coronary heart disease (CHD) is the most common cause of death in the UK, the US, Canada and Australia.

UroToday.com - According to a report from Dr. Hernandez and colleagues at Johns Hopkins University that appears in the online version of Urology, men with prostate cancer (CaP) who undergo radical prostatectomy (RP) and have organ confined disease with Gleason score 6 or less are very unlikely to experience disease recurrence.A retrospective review identified 2,526 men between 1983 and 2005 who underwent RP, either open (2,422) or laparoscopic (104).

UroToday.com - In the February 20, 2008 issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Dr. Ulmert and associates suggest that PSA velocity (PSAV) does not add to PSA in predicting the long-term risk of prostate cancer (CaP). The study was performed using the Malmö Preventive Medicine database, and included 4,907 men who had a blood sample drawn between 1974 and 1986 to investigate risk factors for cardiovascular and metabolic diseases.